Small sized guinea pig

[hamtaroplanet]

Hi,
I'm kinda worried because one of my guinea pigs is smaller than the other guinea pig. She doesn't have the adult chunky built. She's more of slim and long from the top. Plus she doesn't have that fat bottom that most guinea pigs have. Do you think it's ok?

Occasionally, I catch her lifting her right hind leg up when walking, but that is just occasionally, most of the time she walks on all fours. There's nothing wrong with her feet, no bumblefoot or anything and my cage is fleece bedding. (I used to use a slip mat but have changed it to fleece.)

I also realise that compared to the other guinea pig, this one walks with her body closer to the floor.

She is eating normally, not squeaking or anything.

[Foggycreek]

Is she a satin?

[AmysAnimals]

Hmm, I dont really know what to say to tell you the truth. Im going to through out a few possibilities that popped into my head. Im sure one of the rescues can answer this for you. To start out with, when was the last time this little angel was to the vet for an exam? If youre worried its a health problem you can always take her to the vet for a wellness exam--you might even get a free nail trimming out of it. The first thing that popped into my head is maybe your little one was the runt of the litter. If this is the case, she may not be the same size as the others and that can probably be considered normal.

Im not sure if this could apply to your little one or not, but Vitamin E deficiency can cause balance issues as well as stunted growth. What kind of food to you feed her? Although this site has an annoying advertisement at the bottom, it does offer some good information about what can happen if an animal doesnt have a proper amount of a certian Vitamin. Give it a glimpse if you want, here is the link: http://www.freewebs.com/aaguineapigs/Health.html

As I said, Im sure one of the rescues will be able to help you much more than I can

[hamtaroplanet]

Hi, thank you so much for answering. I think she's just a crested, I'm not sure. you can see her here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0T-0gV_Xno she's the piano playing one. (Do you think she's small? She's an adult already.)

I think she could be a runt.

The food that I feed her is Oxbow, plus they get vegetables and Vitamin C tablets (chewables for kids)

She usually walks on all fours but sometimes I catch her lifting one of her leg up when walking and it frightens me so I will pick her up and put her down and see how she walks again and she will walk properly again.

I will definitely bring her to the vet if she's sick, but if she's not sick then I don't think I want to do so. It's quite expensive.

[emily111897]

Has she ever had any other sickness?

[AmysAnimals]

Originally Posted by hamtaroplanet

I will definitely bring her to the vet if she's sick, but if she's not sick then I don't think I want to do so. It's quite expensive.

I feel you on that one. I took my little guy for a wellness exam and came back 60 bucks poorer. It was worth it though but 19 dollars for a nail trim is a little nutty.

[hamtaroplanet]

Hi, no, she does not have any sickness before.
Haha.. I can do a nail trim myself for free. =p

[Foggycreek]

It's too hard to tell from the video if she's a satin or not. Is she shinier than your other pigs? The reason I ask is that satin pigs can develop problems with calcium absorption and bone density. This can cause weakness in the legs, among other things. And satins are often runts, because of the inbreeding used to produce them.

[sus4rabbitsnpigs]

How much does she weigh? What do you feed them?

[AmysAnimals]

Foggy, thanks for the information on Satins! Oscar is one and I new about bone density issues and calcium etc but I would still like a smidge more information. Do you have any websites I can read over to gather more information?